The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) is shifting its 2027 focus from winning votes to guarding them, with National Chairman Moses Cleopas warning that the real contest begins once the polling units close.
“Voting alone is not it, but vote and protect your vote,” Cleopas told a press conference in Abuja after a two-day National Working Committee meeting.
The party, he said, has already learnt its lesson from 2023. He recalled a friend who mobilised support for Obi that year and later questioned how the results were handled. “That is what must not be allowed to happen again,” he said.
The NDC is not waiting for the electoral umpire to set the pace.
“We are not waiting for INEC to tell us before we run around,” Cleopas said. “We are already working in advance on party agents.”
The party has activated its state structures and begun recruiting and organising polling agents. A committee headed by its deputy national chairman, South, is leading the effort.
Candidates and stakeholders are being coordinated across constituencies to identify agents for the governorship, State Assembly, National Assembly and presidential elections. Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates will work with local stakeholders to prepare for vote protection.
Cleopas said vote protection “starts from awareness that must be created among our voters,” and that voter education will intensify in the coming months.
Confidence in the numbers
Despite the emphasis on defence, Cleopas projected confidence about the party’s electoral strength.
“We are convinced that if it is the votes to win the 2027 general elections, we have them,” he said.
He said the ticket of presidential candidate Peter Obi and running mate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso appeals across religious, tribal and national lines. “There is no pair that can beat that right now,” he said.
He pointed to the voting demographics presented by the INEC chairman at a recent event as evidence of the party’s appeal to young Nigerians. “This NDC is meant for our youth, for the next generation,” he said, adding that young people also need the guidance of experienced leaders.
Council delayed, loyalty in focus
The party has yet to inaugurate its presidential campaign council, a delay Cleopas called deliberate. The NDC has proposed October 20 to inaugurate it, issue certificates of return and hold a dinner for its candidates.
He said the party cannot form the council “without recourse” to Obi and Kwankwaso, and warned against rushing appointments. “It is not today you are going to have one DG of your campaign and in the middle of the campaign you will hear that your DG is one leg in NDC, one leg somewhere else,” he said.
Unity message
Cleopas dismissed reports of division, saying the leadership, from national leader Henry Seriake Dickson down to the ward chapters, is “solidly behind all our candidates.”
He urged Nigerians to disregard what he called falsehood and propaganda suggesting Dickson is not committed to the ticket, and defended the decision to skip a competitive primary: “We were clear on the direction we were going, and no regrets.”
He said the party’s immediate priority is to build a strong institution that can sustain its mission beyond 2027.